The Secret History free essay sample

The prologue, as in many works of literature, is used as a way of gripping the reader – making one enthralled in the text, introducing themes that reoccur throughout the text (for example the narrator’s journey in this particular novel), along with characters, and the style of writing used. Within the first few lines of the prologue, we learn that ‘Bunny’ is dead, yet we are not told exactly who he is or why he was killed, which adds to the tension that builds up until the inevitable death of the character. Because the death is mentioned in the prologue, the reader progresses through the text bearing the chilling knowledge that this character that we as a reader become accustomed to is bound to die. This does in fact add to the overwhelming sense of fate that is forever present during the novel. We are told of â€Å"Henry’s modest plan†[1], which introduces the character of Henry as being probably a character that the others look up to and acknowledge as being their leader. To say that the plan was ‘modest’ comments on the narrator’s morality, giving one the impression that they didn’t think highly of Bunny enough to make a more reasonable alternative to his murder. The narrator himself does not seem so much resentful of the incident, as tormented by it. His mind is occupied by the events, yet he does not feel emotion for the death of Bunny – only sympathy for his own involvement. From this we can sense that the writing will be seen through a troubled perspective that will be biased and unjust at times. The writing style uses a lot of pathetic fallacy which is common in gothic thriller novels, for example, R.L. Stevenson’s Jekyll and Hyde, which uses the weather at numerous places throughout to set the mood and atmosphere that will represent the action in the coming chapter. The setting of the prologue is described in a vivid way giving the narrator’s memories a sort of ethereal delicacy to the scenery, and many of the aspects of the language present an oxymoronic metaphor, for example, the description of what would be a peaceful setting: â€Å"shivering apple blossoms†[1] is presented in a chilled and harrowing way, not unlike the obscure descriptions of setting in Anthony Burgess’ Clockwork Orange in which the narrator described often brutal and violent scenes as beautiful. This link is more obvious in Julian’s description of the â€Å"horror of love†[1] later in the novel. The prologue is written in a linear thought trail and sounds as if the narrator is musing over the events that have happened. Throughout the book, the narrator often branches off into tangents thought chains. He presents the story as if he was a stranger who happened to be overlooking the events – in the sense that he speaks with a large level of emotional distance. The scene that Richard paints is one of prolonged fear. As the prologue unfolds, his narrative becomes more cluttered, like the thought train of a troubled mind. He starts off by introducing the scene rather delicately and plain, but by the end of the prologue he is using vivid and harsh detail. This is mirrored in the events in the book. In the beginning the action is slow, but throughout it increases until it progresses to a helpless state that Richard cannot help or stop. The prologue introduces the growing state of anxiety that Richard is seen to emit during the book itself. This can also be linked to the journey that Richard takes from being at peace to in distress, the amount of pressure builds up on him until he can do nothing else but succumb to it. In a way, the prologue can be somewhat linked to that in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, in the sense that the actual focal point of tension in the stories, the deaths of the characters, are revealed in the opening of the text itself. The two lovers in this story are represented by pairs of characters – Charles and Camilla, Henry and Francis, with Richard and Bunny pairing with all of these characters (Bunny in a more-negative way). Essentially the book presents circumstances in which these pairs are in a constant state of tension, for example in the first half everyone’s growing hatred of Bunny and in the last half the disintegration of the bond between most, if not all, of the characters – and Richard’s struggle to maintain his â€Å"perfect† lifestyle. The prologue is written in a well thought out way. It seems as if the narrator has relayed the events over and over in his mind until the events have ceased to be a story in his mind. For instance, we can see this in the way the speech in the prologue has no speech marks; â€Å"Why, looking for new ferns, said Henry†[1]. In the narrator’s mind this mere sentence has stopped being merely words and is now a matter of fact – he can’t change what has happened, not even in his imagination. This also relates to Richard’s feelings that his tragic tale is â€Å"the only story†[1] that he will ever be able to tell. In conclusion, the prologue does have an immediate effect on the reader’s prejudgement of the novel, which in itself prepares the reader for the coming events in the book. Without the feeling of retrospect that the prologue introduces, the tension and dramatically irony that runs deep within the book’s story would not gain momentum throughout the novel, and the intrigue that the reader feels about the provocation of the murder would have been less. The prologue, in a way, acts as a glorified synopsis for the novel. Without it, I doubt that the reader’s interest would have been held more than the 200 word mark. But this is only because the author has written the book in a way that makes one feel for the characters, an actual emotion can’t be brought upon instantaneously.